iRiver Clix: MP3 player innovation

Filed in archive MP3 Players on May 29, 2006

The Apple iPod continues to dominate the MP3 player market. But digital electronics manufacturers continue to gun for their own slice of business. iRiver has released their updated Clix portable. It goes beyond the iPod clickwheel with a touchscreen and adds an FM radio and other features.

Digital Music News provides this favorable review:

"The 2GB Clix is the device-of-choice for the freshly-launched Urge music store from MTV, as well as the upgraded Windows Media Player 11. That is an original and highly-functional choice. Synchronization is seamless from the WMP11 application, which houses the Urge store. Within WMP11, dragging tracks into the Clix is simple, and portable subscription users will enjoy easy device loading. Other options are nice, including an auto-fill feature that quickly stuffs the player with a random shuffle of tracks. Other Extras are more than frills, including a "gas gauge" that offers an easy indicator of how full the device is.

The color screen on the device is also competitive with the high-end iPod, and houses full album artwork, personal pictures and videos. Sound quality is also strong, especially with higher-end headphones. So what are the disadvantages? For a 2GB player, some may balk at a $200 price point, and others may be uninterested in any navigation system that strays from the click-wheel. But mostly this is a very functional and surprisingly refreshing handheld. Now, the larger question is whether users will be willing to embrace the stepped-down status of an iRiver, an all-important factor for image-conscious US buyers. In that category, an association with MTV will help, though music fans have mostly been lukewarm in non-iPod fashion statements. Still, this is a growing market, and the Clix could eventually offer a nice differentiator from the rather homogenous, iPod-toting crowd."